Most sane people would get as much time as possible on the sunny Côte d'Azur. Not us. On the 24th we struck out on the Napoleon Path ( route Napoleon )---so named because Napoleon used it when he returned from his exile in Elba in 1815. By late afternoon we had made the small touristy town of Chamonix in the French Alps, at the foot of Mont Blanc. For dinner we had a raclette , a specialty of the region.

The next day we got up early to be first in line for the cable car up to the Aiguille du Midi , a pinnacle high up Mont Blanc. The weather was absolutely perfect and we had a terrific view. There was quite a crowd in the cable car, many of whom were french military training by climbing the last kilometer from the Aiguille du Midi to the top of Mont Blanc.